


Snape & Harry's Unexpected Adventure

by Small_Hobbit



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-23
Updated: 2018-05-23
Packaged: 2019-05-13 00:11:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,024
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14738420
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Small_Hobbit/pseuds/Small_Hobbit
Summary: When Snape has a bad week at school, Harry decides a weekend away would be a good idea.





	Snape & Harry's Unexpected Adventure

**Author's Note:**

> Originally written in 12 parts for LJ/DWs HP_May_Madness.
> 
> I was encouraged by Alisanne to write a chaptered fic.

Harry looked up as Snape flung the door open and then slammed it behind him.

“It’s happened again,” he said.  “Those blasted Turnpuddle triplets swapped places.  I really don’t understand why the Sorting Hat put them in different houses; it would have been so much easier if they’d all been in the same one.”

“Maybe it was thought they’d be too much for one house.  And anyway it can’t be all three of them, Miranda looks different from her brothers.”

“But nevertheless I have had all three of the triplets in my potions class this afternoon.  I spotted Humphrey soon after I began teaching and sent him out with instructions to send his brother in.  Next time I looked Miranda was sitting in the seat her brother had vacated.  So I told her to leave, and finally, with over half the lesson gone, Gregory deigned to join the class.”

Harry almost laughed, but one glance at Snape’s expression stopped him.  Instead he walked over and took Snape’s hands in his.

“We’re both free this weekend, so why don’t we go away for a few days, and give you a break.”

“Where will we go?”

“I don’t know.  We can just set off and see where we end up.”

***

True to his word, Harry was ready to depart on the Friday afternoon as soon as Snape had finished his last class.  When Snape joined him he only looked as frustrated as he normally did after a Friday final fourth year class, which was a relief to Harry, who had just seen the new flying teacher trying to surreptitiously drink a large bottle of something, having had all three Turnpuddles in her class.

“We’re travelling light, I see,” Snape remarked.

“Yes,” agreed Harry, picking up the small bag.  “But don’t worry, I’ve packed all the essentials.”

Just then they heard the sound of footsteps, coming down the corridor.

“Quick,” Snape said.  “That sounds like the headmistress on the warpath.  I know she’s agreed to our weekend away, but it won’t stop her delaying our departure.”

Hurriedly they slipped out of the building, and half ran round to the back, before making a rapid exit by broomstick.

They reached the Leaky Cauldron, and went inside, to be greeted by Neville.

“The weather’s getting worse,” Neville said, “you’d be welcome to stay here tonight if you like.  I won’t tell anyone of your whereabouts.”

“Thank you for the offer,” Harry replied, “but I think we’ll be okay,” and reaching out a hand to Snape they entered the floo together.

Harry and Snape exited from a floo inside a small cottage which felt as though it hadn’t been used for many years.

“I’m surprised this is still open,” Snape said.

“Yes,” Harry agreed.  “It’s probably more a case that it’s not been closed because it’s been forgotten about.  Anyway, it’s served my purpose.”

They looked around and Harry said, “It’s now quite how I imagined it though.”

“What?”

“I’d planned on staying in the cottage overnight, but I’m not sure that’s such a good idea.”

Snape looked up.  “Yes, a roof might have been an advantage.”

“Nevermind.”  Harry held out his hand.  “Come with me.  I’m sure we can find somewhere to spend the night.”

The cottage stood on its own, surrounded by fields and woods.  Harry opened his bag and pulled out a small green package, which he shook and the placed on the ground.

“What is that?” Snape asked.  “Please tell me it’s not a Lovegood invention.”

Harry laughed.  “No, had it been Luna’s it would have been covered in wildflowers, probably living ones.  This is what the Muggles call a pop-up tent.”

“It doesn’t look very big,” Snape said thoughtfully.  “Any incautious movement and the thing would land on top of you.”

“That,” Harry said, pulling a second object out of his bag, “is why I brought this.”  He laid a tartan blanket on the ground.

***

Early the following morning Snape struggled out of the pop-up tent.  Harry had refused his suggestion they enlarge it, saying it was cosy, which Snape had translated into cramped.  He’d slept better than he’d expected, but nonetheless he was hoping they’d find somewhere more comfortable to stay for their second night.

He was delighted to see the sunshine.  The sky was a perfect azure, and Snape’s spirits began to lift, the slight sense of unease he had felt when he woke being dissipated by the sunshine.  He decided to explore the field they were camping in.

As he approached the hedge he realised something was preventing from reaching it.  Cautiously he stretched out his hand, but the leaves eluded his fingertips.  Concerned, he continued his circuit of the field, quickly reaching the cottage where they had arrived.  Once more he was unable to touch the stonework, although they had certainly been inside the cottage the previous night.  On further reflection, Snape remembered neither of them had touched the cottage walls, simply leaving by the wooden doorway.

At that moment Harry crawled out of the tent.  He stretched, looked around, and said, “What a glorious day.  The sky is almost perfect.”

“Possibly too perfect,” Snape replied.  “I think we have a problem.”

Snape told Harry what he had found.

“Oh, that’s not good,” Harry said.

“And there’s another thing,” Snape added.  “We’re in the middle of the countryside, but what can you hear?”

“Nothing,” Harry replied.  “No bells, no pupils, no urgent requests for help.  It’s blissful!  Oh, wait a minute, there’s no birdsong either.  You’d think in such an idyllic spot there’d be lots of birds.”

“Precisely!”

Hurriedly, Harry packed up the tent and slung the bag on his back.  “So, do we risk the floo, or do we try to apparate?”

“Hmm.”  Snape was concentrating on the far corner of the field.  “I can see something through there - it might be a pheasant.  If it is, then that means there may be a small chink in whatever is surrounding us.”

“Right, well let’s try it!”

They crossed the field and found there was a small gap, just big enough for a man to slide through sideways.

“We hold hands,” Snape said, “in case there’s a problem.”

Harry grasped Snape’s hand firmly and followed closely after him.  Once through the gap they looked around; although still sunny, there were clouds in the sky which hinted at the possibility of rain later.  Not that that was deterring the birds, who, much to both Snape and Harry’s relief, were singing loudly.

They turned back to look at where they’d come from and Snape sneezed.

“That was a green field when we were in it,” Harry said, “and now it’s all yellow.”

“I know,” Snape said, sneezing again.  “Do you think we can go a little further away?”

Harry and Snape looked at each other, then Snape asked, “How did you find that floo?”

“I was reading an article in the _Daily Prophet_ and one of those annoying pop-ups appeared.  Normally I ignore them, but this time it mentioned quiet weekends away so I followed it.  There were four or five suggestions and I chose this one.”

“I have a feeling you weren’t the one who was supposed to find it.”

“But wouldn’t it be a bit risky creating a pop-up just to send one person floo co-ordinates?”

“The pop-up was probably genuine, and no doubt the other suggestions were perfectly delightful places to stay.  But unfortunately you must have seen it at the same time as the intended recipient.”

“So, have they already come here?”

“Unlikely.  Or if they have they’re planning on coming back, otherwise the floo would have been shut down.”

Any further thoughts Snape might have had were cut short by a series of silver lights which shot across the field of oil seed rape.  This was followed by the sound of thunder and the rain pouring down.  Anyone standing in the field would have been drenched in no time, Harry and Snape, outside the field, remained completely dry.

“What on earth?” Harry asked.

Snape finished waving his wand before replying, “I thought it wise to cast as much protection around us as possible.  I’d prefer whoever is in that field to remain in complete ignorance of our presence.  Whatever’s happening over there is too powerful to be contained by the wards.”

They continued to watch as the storm raged.  “You know I’ve always wondered what it would be like to have sex in a thunderstorm,” Harry remarked.

“Strangely enough the thought had never before crossed my mind, and I have no intention of letting it do so now!”

As suddenly as it had begun the storm abated.  Harry spotted a sliver of light coming from one corner of the field.  He pointed it out to Snape and cautiously the crept towards it.  They could just make out four figures standing in the field.  Snape conjured a listening charm.

“That’s a bit risky,” Harry said.  “What if they notice?”

“It’s low frequency, so it’s not likely they’ll pick it up above the rest of the magic.” Snape replied.

The sound of the voices was so quiet Snape had to bend down so he and Harry were practically ear to ear.  They listened to the conversation and once it was finished they silently made their way to the opposite side of their field.

“So the field is being used as a training ground,” Harry said.  “But for what?”

“A group getting together and planning to do a quiet takeover of an organisation.  I’ve heard it all before.  This is their recruitment phase.”

“But who for?  Where and when?”

“Of that I have no idea, we’ll leave that to the Aurors to sort out.”

“We should let them know at once.”

Snape gave a quirky smile.  “An admirable notion, although I don’t believe it’s quite that urgent; the Aurors will be able to do a floo trace for a few days yet, it’s not as though it’s used frequently.”

“But,” Harry started to protest.

“Also we need to find a way out of this field without attracting any attention, and the only non-magical way I can currently think of is by walking.”

They were just negotiating the ditch separating the field they were in from the next one, when Snape abruptly stopped.  Harry wobbled and grabbed hold of a branch to stop sliding into the stream which ran along the bottom of the ditch.

“Look,” said Snape, pointing to a plume of smoke which was visible in the sky above where the cottage was situated.

“What’s the problem?” Harry asked.  “The fire’s not going to affect us.”

“Maybe not directly, but if we can see the smoke it means it’s broken clear of the wards, which means the fire may do so too, with the potential to set fire to the crop.

Snape and Harry scrabbled back out of the ditch and ran across the field.  The small gap at the corner of the next field which they’d looked through earlier had expanded, and they could see the fire clearly.  What was left of the cottage was already smouldering, with flames shooting up from where the floo had been.

Harry and Snape raced across the field, waving their wands in order to extinguish the fire.  Once they were happy the fire was out, Harry cast another spell to dampen the embers, and he and Snape turned towards two rather sorry looking individuals who were standing nearby.

Snape glared at one of the men and said, “You’re the older Turnpuddle, aren’t you?”  When he nodded, Snape said to Harry, “Left before your time.  The only good thing is there’s only one of him.”

Harry sighed and said, “Let’s apparate out.  These two can sidealong with us.”

“Um,” the non-Turnpuddle said.

“The former companions of these two imbeciles have left trackers on them,” Snape explained.  “If we apparate they, and we, will be followed, which would not be a good idea.  Plus, the ash from the fire will no doubt activate any wards around places we try to apparate into, leaving us outside our place of safety and at the mercy of some rather unpleasant people.”

“So what do you suggest?” Harry asked.

“We revert to our previous plan and start walking.  They may still be tracked, but no-one will be concerned just because they’ve left the field.  And the ash will blow away in time.  So all we need to know is where we are now.”

“Ah,” said Harry.

“You mean you don’t know?”

“It was going to be an adventure.  Floo in, have a few days break, floo out.”

“Salazar!  Two complete imbeciles and one semi-qualified one.  There’s a lane over there.  I suggest we follow it, since it must eventually lead somewhere.”

Snape stomped off towards the lane, with the other three trailing after him.

Harry hurriedly caught up with Snape, leaving the other two to follow at a distance.  He thought they might decide to do a runner, but it seemed unlikely, he and Snape were, after all, their best chance of getting away.

“I’m sorry this has gone so badly wrong,” Harry began.  “I just wanted to give you a break and have something to look back on to keep you going for the next few weeks of term.”

“I shall have something to look back on alright,” Snape grumbled.

“I’d even bought new silk underwear, the sort you like, which I was planning on wearing for you; at least for a few minutes.”

“What colour?”

“One pair emerald, one pair ruby.  It was to be your choice.”

“Why didn’t you say so before?”

“There wasn’t the opportunity.  It was going to be a surprise.”

“This whole break has proved a surprise.  That was one I would actually have liked.”

“I know.  I’m sorry.  Maybe we could somehow manage to salvage one night.”

“No tent?”

“No tent.”

“A decent bed and my favourite silk underwear?  Well, desperate times call for desperate measures.”  Turning round Snape shouted out, “Oy, you two pillocks, get over here now.”

Turnpuddle and his companion arrived at a run; the voice of their ex-potion master clearly still having power over them.

“This is what we’re going to do,” Snape said.

Snape led them down the lane and into the village.  He didn’t slow his pace down, but continued until they reached the children’s playground.  Fortunately there were few children around to witness the arrival of the four men.  They walked to one end of the playground, and once Snape was happy he cast an invisibility spell so it encompassed the four of them, plus the children’s slide.

“We go down the slide one at a time,” Snape said.

“What?”  Harry looked at him as if he had taken leave of his senses.

Quietly, Snape said to him, “Mmm, I still haven’t decided between emerald or ruby.”  Then when Harry reluctantly shrugged his shoulders in acceptance, Snape added out loud, “You go first, idiot number one will follow you, and then idiot number two, and I shall bring up the rear collecting any spare limbs as I go.”

Turnpuddle and his companion gave a horrified gasp, and Snape smiled at them, before saying, “Just remember to keep your hands and feet within the slide at all times.”

Feeling a fool, Harry climbed up the steps of the slide.  As he sat down on the top he wasn’t prepared for the force which took hold of him, and he shot down the slide in what he felt was a highly undignified manner.

He arrived in a room which was decorated with a number of brightly coloured pictures, which would no doubt have been reassuring were he a young child, but he found it slightly disconcerting.

Shortly afterwards Turnpuddle arrived, landing in a heap; his companion followed and landed on top of him.  Hurriedly the two crawled away from the landing point afraid of being squashed when Snape arrived.

Snape, however, landed with his ankles crossed and his hands in his lap, presumably the same way he had sat on the slide at the start.

“Where are we?” Harry asked.

“The ministry basement,” Snape explained.  “This is an emergency reception room.  It’s designed so that if a group of young children are caught somewhere their carers can safely bring them here.”

Any further explanation was cut short by the arrival of a young wizard carrying squash and biscuits.  Snape took the tray and thanked the wizard, who looked slightly confused at the absence of children.

“We’ll be up shortly,” Snape said.  “I’ll explain then.”  Then turning to the others, he said, “Enjoy your squash and biscuits, gentlemen.”

***

“That’s more like it,” Snape said with a happy sigh.  He was sipping tea from a bone china cup in a luxurious bedroom of a country hotel.

The hotel itself was very popular with those who wanted a quiet weekend away, and had been constructed so that the guests, although in fact numerous, had the impression they were the only ones present.  The first time someone ate in the restaurant always felt slightly strange, but guests soon grew used to the idea, and many of them returned time and again.

“I must admit it’s not quite what I had in mind,” Harry said.  “I thought we’d do something exciting which would distract you from school for the weekend.

Snape snorted.  “We saw how well that turned out.”

“What will happen to Turnpuddle and friend?  They didn’t really seem very dangerous.”

“It will depend on how co-operative they are, but I doubt they’ll be in too much trouble.”  Snape stretched out his legs and looked Harry up and down.  “Now, let’s forget about them.  I believe you asked me a question which I have yet to answer.”

Harry grinned at him and licked his lips before thrusting his hips forward in a provocative manner.

“I think emerald tonight and then ruby tomorrow morning,” Snape said.  “There’ll be plenty of time; we won’t need to leave until after lunch.”

“I’ll get changed then.”

“There’s no rush.  I want to enjoy my tea first, and dinner is served until late in the evening.”

 


End file.
